Bad Advice

by S M Mala

  His only perk from that was he ate most of the pies and donuts.

  That she felt envious of.

  ‘It is a problem page and very successful. I get lots of people contacting me and many letters and emails of support, so stuff you,’ she said with a bright grin. ‘I don’t give bad advice, I tell it how it is. If people don’t want to hear the truth, fine. But I help not hinder.’

  Her session was ending and she noticed a few of the others were deep in conversation.

  Mick got up and walked off in a strop.

  Ruby let out a disgruntled sigh, watching the man’s fat backside disappear into the kitchen. She didn’t want to stay any longer but was faced with going home to an empty house. Theo was with his father and she wanted to do a late shift, feeling guilty for taking time off as she secretly liaised with Scottie.

  Scottie…

  She sat at her computer and searched for the man, wondering why he didn’t like journalists, remembering what Diane had said in passing about a cousin of hers. Ruby tried not to research the man but she had no choice. He wasn’t telling her something.

  Then it all started to make sense that he wasn’t a lowly local government worker.

  There was a blatant clue in his home that pieced it all together.

  ‘Please don’t tell me you’re one of those,’ she mumbled to the screen, screwing up her face. ‘Don’t do this to me.’

  Then she found the page which told her all about him.

  ‘Jesus,’ she mumbled, seeing Annette glance over at her. ‘How could this be?’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ the elderly woman asked, while slipping something from her drinking flask into her tea. ‘Praying to god to make you into the perfect Samaritan? There aren’t enough days for that or miracles.’

  Ruby smiled. Annette held up the bottle to offer her some. She shook her head in refusal.

  ‘I need to keep a clear head,’ she sighed, reading about Jonathan Scott on her screen.

  ‘What about?’

  ‘A man.’

  ‘Oh dear, don’t get involved in all that. It’s too much trouble.’

  ‘I’ve met someone and found out what they do for a living isn’t something I like.’

  ‘Male stripper?’ Annette said in all seriousness. ‘Someone’s got to do it.’

  ‘Not as glamorous. I’m not sure if he’ll be impressed when he finds out that I’ve had a run in with people from his workplace,’ she said quietly, wondering if that was why Scottie didn’t like journalists.

  ‘But if you like him, what difference does it make?’

  ‘A big difference, believe me.’

  It was nearly ten as she headed off home, kissing Annette goodbye.

  Ruby went out of the building and stopped dead in her tracks.

  Scottie was standing outside.

  Before she could open her mouth to say something, he walked closer and kissed her.

  ‘I couldn’t wait until the weekend, I wanted to see you,’ he said quietly, stroking her face.

  Ruby felt a surge of happiness, knowing she was falling for the man but desperately trying not to. She didn’t care what he did for a living as it really didn’t matter.

  There was an explosion of love in her chest.

  Her feelings for him were happening a little too fast. She wasn’t a fool and knew what was going on in her heart. Even though they had met seven weeks ago, there was something that made her think she’d known him for a long time.

  ‘Come back to mine, please?’ he said gently. ‘I’ll make sure you get home in time to go to work. Please Ruby?’

  ‘When you ask me so nicely, how can I refuse?’

  He was gently holding her arms above her head as he moved inside. Ruby was looking at him, her face getting hotter by the second due to lust. Slowly he took one hand away, still clasping her palm with the other, then held both her wrists. His free hand travelled over her skin. Only his touch could turn her on while his mouth kissed where his fingers had traced.

  They kissed, their tongues intertwined, like their bodies, and she felt full of lust and love for him, gasping as his hips managed to grind deeper. All you could hear in the room was their breathing. She looked at him in the eyes.

  He was gorgeous and half smiled. She wanted him so much and didn’t want their time to ever end.

  It struck her she had it bad.

  ‘Oh god, you’re amazing,’ she said breathlessly, feeling his delicious weight against her skin, trying to ignore what she was feeling.

  Then he turned her around so she was on top.

  He was very strong and easily lifted her hips so he could hump her, which he did, as she shuddered. She let go of her inhibitions and fell into wild abandon, feeling him touch and caress.

  There was nothing else she wanted at that moment.

  Only him.

  Ruby flung her head back, loving everything he was doing. Scottie sat up and gently held on to the back of her neck, giving her goose pimples. Their mouths met and she felt his tongue touch hers. They kissed then he groaned really loudly. She examined the muscles on his neck getting taut and the contortion of pain then pleasure on his face.

  It hit her she was desperately in love with him.

  They sat panting. She rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. He touched her chin and looked into her eyes. They stared at each other for a moment.

  ‘Scottie, I really like you,’ she said, unable to hold it in any longer.

  ‘Ruby, I really like you,’ he quietly replied, letting out a little laugh. ‘I’m trying not to like you even more.’

  He winced for a second and she could tell something was troubling him.

  ‘Talk to me. It might help.’

  Slowly she moved forward and kissed him, the pair still joined.

  ‘You might not like it,’ he said softly.

  ‘I like everything about you. Nothing will surprise me or put me off and, to be honest, I don’t care what it is.’

  Eighteen

  He plumped up her pillows as she lay in his bed. She looked gorgeous with her hair trailing but wide eyed in anticipation, waiting for what he was going to say.

  ‘I used to interview a lot of people when I was an old hack and you know I like to pry.’

  He tried to fathom how he was going to break the news about what he did for a living, without losing her.

  ‘Is this an honesty session?’ Ruby asked with a smile. She leaned over, grabbing a bottle of water and sipped it. ‘Can I ask you questions?’

  ‘Sure,’ he said, sitting down beside her, wanting to make love again when he realised it was coming up to midnight.

  ‘Explain the three children and different mothers. You’ve not said much about that aspect of your life. Is there something I need to know?’

  ‘Right, that’s always an ice breaker. I didn’t want to talk about it. It’s a little complicated,’ he grimaced. ‘I met Rita when I was twenty two. She had one kid at the time, Charlie, who was six and we’re still close. I adopted him. Thing is, a few years later, the marriage wasn’t working, probably because we got hitched for the wrong reasons, so we split. It was hard on Charlie but I wanted to be part of his life.’

  ‘What happened to them?’

  ‘Charlie stayed with his mum, though I saw him a lot as he grew up, and then he went off to university to study social care. He’s now a youth worker and I’m really proud of him. Rita met some guy and moved to Marbella. I keep in contact with her and she’s happy.’

  ‘You didn’t have kids with her?’

  ‘She didn’t want any more. She was fifteen years older than me.’

  ‘You like older women? I’m flattered.’

  Scottie closed his eyes for a moment, surprised how he was feeling about telling her this. He wanted her to know about him and was also desperately scared he might lose Ruby in the process.

  ‘That was a very kind thing to do, taking on someone else’s child,’ she said quietly.

  S
he placed her hand on his face as he looked straight at her.

  ‘You see, not dissimilar to Charlie, my mother met a really nice guy and fell in love. I was five. My real dad left her. I never met him but I know he died years ago. Mum married and I got a father. When she died, he looked after me until he passed away. He was my dad to me. That’s a wonderful thing you did and I can truly appreciate it. Makes me like you even more.’

  There was a thud he knew so well in his chest, the one he hadn’t felt for a very long time when he looked at her. But the pounding he was feeling was much harder than he’d ever experienced before and he knew that wasn’t a good thing. Not right now.

  ‘And the second mother?’ Ruby asked.

  ‘That was a whole different ball game. Rita was warm whereas Miriam wanted to have fun. Her parents are quite well off and, to put it in a nutshell, I met her at a party in Chelsea. Then she fell pregnant with Katya and, once again, the relationship didn’t work out. Her parents hate me but what can you do?’

  ‘Wear a condom?’ Ruby started to laugh. ‘And the third and last mother? It is the last one, isn’t it?’

  ‘Have you seen the amount of rubbers I buy? I’m not risking anything and I certainly don’t want more kids,’ he laughed out loudly. ‘Lorraine is a lovely woman. We met via mutual friends, actually my personal trainer, and hit it off. I moved in and Riley came along but it didn’t work out. She had kids from a previous marriage. Missy and Trey. At least Riley isn’t alone. I moved out about three years ago. I’m happy she’s met a really nice guy called Kevin who Riley gets on with. That’s my life. Three kids I see on-off at the weekends. Trying to figure out how to make them like me and keep them happy.’

  ‘Do they like you?’

  ‘Charlie and Riley, yes. Katya? I don’t think so,’ he honestly replied. ‘The kids are all so different and it’s hard. Charlie’s an adult with a girlfriend and is sorted but I feel a little fragmented, to be honest. Not part of a proper family.’

  Scottie flopped backwards onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

  It sounded like a mess and he hadn’t even got onto his job.

  But he’d revealed something he didn’t usually admit.

  He missed being part of a family, part of something.

  ‘I don’t intentionally pick a woman where the relationship isn’t going to work out,’ he continued. ‘But I realised, in recent years, my career should come first as well as the kids and everything has to be on the back burner. I suppose my job is my family now.’

  It was silent. All he could hear was his own heavy breathing.

  ‘I fell in love with a man I looked up to. He was everything to me. One day I realised he wasn’t the man I thought and that broke my heart,’ Ruby said quietly. He turned to look at her. ‘Everything I thought we stood for was a pack of lies and I couldn’t forgive him. I’m scared to be in a relationship because I don’t want to be let down again. It’s been hard and taken me ages to pick myself back up. Theo’s been a wonderful focus but I know what it’s like to feel, what did you say, fragmented?’

  Ruby then started to laugh out loudly. He slowly sat up, balancing on his elbows and watched her.

  ‘You have a great laugh,’ Scottie grinned. ‘It’s very sexy.’

  ‘We have a really bad back story which isn’t very sexy. But I’m happy you love your children and have various mothers scattered all over the place. Your childcare costs must be astronomical!’

  ‘Katya’s got her grandparents who contribute and don’t I know it. Riley’s mother wants to be more independent but I make sure I pay for my son. He’s pretty expensive to run.’

  ‘Tell me about it,’ she laughed.

  Scottie wanted to tell her, there and then, he really liked her a lot more than he was willing to admit. He knew she’d been hurt and he wouldn’t do that to her.

  Not Ruby.

  For a moment he wondered if she felt anything about him.

  ‘With so many women and kids, when do you find time to work out at the gym with your personal trainer, considering your glittering career in local government?’ Ruby asked.

  He detected a hint of sarcasm.

  ‘I go in my lunch break, before or after work, sometimes weekend. You’re not impressed with the muscles?’ He kissed his arm as she started to laugh. ‘You prefer your men less defined?’

  ‘I don’t have a preference for anything, though I don’t usually like tattoos but I’m beginning to be won over by your body art.’

  ‘Do you like me?’ he asked quietly. ‘I mean, really like me?’

  ‘Yes, I really like you.’

  ‘Good because what I’m going to tell you might change your mind,’ he said hesitantly. ‘And I don’t what it to change anything that’s why I didn’t tell you before.’

  ‘That sounds ominous,’ Ruby replied and he noticed the sheet had slipped, revealing her breasts with beautiful dark nipples.

  His first instinct was to caress and kiss them.

  ‘Tell me how it is then,’ she sighed.

  The covers fell away so he could see more of her skin.

  ‘Are you trying to distract me?’

  ‘I want to make love again.’ She moved closer. ‘After you confess to whatever it is you’re going to say.’

  ‘Don’t be mad, promise me you won’t get angry or upset? I don’t tell people because they have an opinion and this is really hard. I like you Ruby, I like you a lot and I don’t want this to spoil it.’

  He felt this awful emotion in his chest as she moved closer. Ruby now looked concerned.

  ‘Tell me,’ she quietly said.

  ‘I’m a policeman,’ he blurted out and watched her smile disappear.

  ‘I know Scottie. I found some handcuffs in your drawer a few weeks ago and they’re not the ones you get from ‘Coco de Mer’ or ‘Good Vibration’ are they?’

  Nineteen

  The man’s gorgeous face was a picture. She grinned, her heart flipping constantly.

  ‘I remembered Diane telling me about her piggy cousin. She was drunk and probably forgot. Then I figured it out for myself.’

  Still he looked at her suspiciously.

  ‘I was a journalist once upon a time and it didn’t take me long to find out you’re one of their golden boys. You obviously didn’t want me to know. Considering we both said we were going to be casual, I let it drop, much like my knickers do every time I see you.’

  Ruby wasn’t going to tell him she did a thorough search a few hours back. He was the new face of the Metropolitan Police, one of the boys in blue they were pinning their hopes on to turn their image around. And it wasn’t any wonder they were using him as he was, indeed, a very good looking poster boy.

  When she discovered he had shot through the ranks, aware of the tokenism being used based on the way he looked and his working class background, she realised he could be easily dispensed with by the higher ranks if he tripped up.

  She wondered if he knew that’s how it worked.

  ‘Diane says you can’t stand the police,’ he said, frowning heavily.

  ‘Not all of them. Are you mad with me for not saying I knew? Didn’t you think I’d see your handcuffs when you asked me to go in there to get you some boxers? You’re not a very smart cop, are you?’

  Again, she laughed, realising he had wound himself up over this as he threw himself backwards onto the bed.

  ‘I know you don’t like us. Diane said about your husband and-.’

  ‘It’s not because of anything,’ Ruby replied, trying not to get annoyed. ‘That was the past. This is the present and the future.’ She shifted closer, flinging back the sheet and lying on his naked body. ‘But we don’t have a future if you want to focus on your career and forget about women.’

  Ruby wished he wanted to see more of her.

  But he was a career cop which meant his work came first and all else came second.

  That was something she was used to, being married to a high flying journalist. She had also
experienced the same thing as a teenager because her step father was also into his work.

  ‘I’m used to second best,’ she heard herself say, noticing his startled eyes. ‘I was married to a career junkie.’

  Scottie was staring at her without a hint of an expression.

  ‘You don’t deserve to be second best,’ he said quietly as she kissed his face. ‘I’d certainly never treat you as second best, god, I’d worship you.’

  Something twisted hard in her chest when she heard his words.

  ‘That’s very romantic,’ Ruby replied and kissed him gently on the lips, feeling his hands run up and down her naked body.

  He then rolled her over so he was on top, taking her face in his hands.

  ‘I don’t want to fall in love,’ he said, deadly serious. The comment made something plummet in her gut knowing she was going to get hurt. ‘I’m focussing on work.’

  She nodded. He didn’t feel the same way about her at all but was good at saying the right thing.

  And it unexpectedly hurt as she gulped away her pain.

  ‘I understand,’ she said, hiding her disappointment and remembering to keep it all light. ‘I’ll make sure you don’t.’

  Twenty

  He didn’t feel good at saying it, knowing he was convincing himself. Scottie noticed a flicker in her face and wondered if that was from relief or hurt.

  ‘It’s good to focus on something that makes you happy,’ Ruby replied and stroked his face. ‘And that’s your work.’

  ‘Do you think it was harsh?’

  Scottie wondered if she could feel the pounding of his heart through her chest. They were touching each other but then he thought the pumping beat could be hers.

  ‘I think you’re being kind to tell me. You know, we’re certainly rushing through things since we met, a bit like a pair of gay women. Well, the ones I know always fall for people so easily then it fizzles out. Ours might fizzle after the sizzle,’ she said and kissed his face. ‘I’ll try and stop falling in love with you. I have no choice.’

  Ruby gently rolled him off and walked towards the bathroom.

  He lay there wondering if he had said the right thing.